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Jasprit Bumrah warned to stay away from Lord's pitch moments before start of 3rd Test vs England; India pacer's reply…
As Jasprit Bumrah glanced at the pitch, he was told not to maintain his distance before the start of 3rd Test between India and England at Lord's.
Jasprit Bumrah’s return to India’s Playing XI was on expected lines. After missing the 2nd Test at Edgbaston due to rest and workload management as part of the larger picture, the India pacer spearhead made his much-awaited return for the all-important third Test against England starting today. Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna to bolster the bowling attack that already features Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, both of whom picked up a six-wicket haul each in Birmingham. Bumrah bowled full tilt in the nets, and if his form from Leeds is anything to go by, with Siraj and Akash's support, India are likely to unleash on England like they did four days ago.
However, moments before the start of play at the iconic Lord's cricket stadium, an interesting situation unfolded. Bumrah, who was warming up, casually strolled near the pitch to have a close look at it. Bumrah stepped over the ropes that were shielding the surface from all four sides and got close to the pitch. Ben Stokes was shadow-practicing as well, but the England captain maintained his distance from the 22 yards. Bumrah, however, it seems, got a tad closer to comfort. As he glanced at the pitch, a ground official standing adjacent to the wicket pointed out to Bumrah that he must not step onto it.
Also Read: India vs England 3rd Test, Live, Lord's
Bumrah, as cheeky as always, wasn’t going to let it go that easily. The Indian pacer teased the groundstaff, threatening to put a foot on the surface. A small chuckle followed, but the official, fully committed to his duty, reminded Bumrah again. This time around, though, Bumrah stood there, passed a look before finally taking a step back. In fact, the India pacer took two steps behind and walked off.
Watch the clip below:
This incident transpired just moments before the start of play, as England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat, hoping to regain their lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which currently stands tied at 1-1.
Bumrah back: What does it mean for India and their chances at Lord's?
Bumrah replacing the expensive Prasidh remains the only change in India’s Playing XI. It was believed that Kuldeep Yadav may finally get a look in, but all the discussions were put to rest when Washington Sundar retained his place owing to India’s need for batting depth. The ploy worked brilliantly at Birmingham, and India see no reason why they needed to tweak a winning combination much.
India have won their last two out of three Test matches at Lord’s. In 2014, Ajinkya Rahane scored a century, Ravindra Jadeja a half-century, while Ishan Sharma picked up career-best figures of 7/74 to hand India a memorable win under MS Dhoni. However, India lost that series 1-3. India lost at Lord’s during the 2018 tour but produced one of their most famous Test wins overseas when they hammered England by 151 runs three years later in 2021.
In a bowling performance which has now become synonymous with ’60 overs of hell’, India set England a target of 272 but dismissed them for 120 after a fiery pep talk by their then captain Virat Kohli. In their 93-year-long history of touring England, India have won just three times at Lords – 1986, 2014 and 2021. Shubman Gill's boys would be eager for a fourth and come a step closer to winning the series.
